Changing the Headlamp Bulbs in a Renault ZOE

The headlights in a Renault ZOE are not particularly powerful at the best of times, but recently it became clear that my car was giving out so little light that it must have a blown headlamp. Having often changed the bulbs in other cars I decided to take this job on myself, despite finding that changing the bulb in my wife’s Ford Focus was something of a trial.

I dived into the Owner’s Manual (see Figure 1) to confirm the type required – “Bulb Type: H7, use anti U.V. 55W bulbs so as not to damage the plastic on the headlight” – and picked one up from the local Halfords.

Figure 3: Renault ZOE headlamp bulb assembly (Image: T. Larkum)

The process of changing the bulb (the left-hand one) was surprisingly easy:

1. Pull off the rubber cover. See Figure 2 – the bulb is located in the housing just below the big white sticker.

2. Reach into the housing and grasp the headlamp assembly – it’s pretty fiddly, particularly if you have large hands – see Figure 3.

3. Twist the headlamp assembly anti-clockwise about 20 degrees. This is the trickiest bit as it’s both hard to hold and see. I jiggled it and eventually it turned enough to come out.

4. Pull out the bulb from its holder, and replace. Again this is a bit tricky as the bulb can be seated very firmly, just pull and jiggle to get it out. See Figure 4.

5. Repeat sequence in reverse, but try not to touch the glass of the new bulb.